Robbie Grossman and Leody Taveras drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to highlight a four-run ninth inning as the Texas Rangers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Adolis Garcia hit his 32nd home run of the season and had two hits, and Mitch Garver also homered and had two hits for Texas, which remained in a tie for first place in the American League West with the Seattle Mariners.
Brock Burke (5-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning relief after starter Max Scherzer allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings. Scherzer walked one and struck out 10, the 113th time he has struck out 10 or more in a game.
Jorge Polanco homered, and Max Kepler doubled and had two hits and an RBI for Minnesota. Griffin Jax (5-8) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on two hits and two walks over one-third of an inning. He also hit a batter and struck out one.
The score was tied 2-2 entering the ninth when Garcia and Garver singled. Jax struck out Travis Jankowski but then hit Ezequiel Duran to load the bases. Grossman then walked to force in what proved to be the winning run and Taveras followed with another walk to make it 4-2.
Dylan Floro then replaced Jax and hit Marcus Semien in the right elbow to force in another run. Corey Seager followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 6-2.
Texas took a 1-0 lead in the second on inning on Garver’s second homer in two games and 12th of the season, a 417-foot drive to left.
Minnesota tied it 1-1 in the third on an RBI double by Kepler, driving in Edouard Julien, who had doubled.
Garcia put the Rangers back in front in the sixth with a 424-foot homer to center off reliever Caleb Thielbar. The Twins tied it in the bottom half of the inning against Scherzer when Polanco led off with his ninth home run.
–Field Level Media
